Thomas Barrasford
Encyclopedia
Thomas Barrasford was a 19th century British
entertainment impresario
and business entrepreneur, who owned and built a number of theatre
s across the United Kingdom
under the Barrasford Halls brand.
publican
, Barrasford attended the Royal Scotch Arms pub, and noticed its transformation under his later competitors Moss
and Thornton into the Empire Music Hall in 1890. In 1895, in partnership with a man named Varah, Barrasford took over the wooden circus on the Ormond Street, Jarrow
, turning it into a music hall, known as the Jarrow Palace of Varieties.
Expanding his empire quickly from 1899, he acquired the Leeds Tivoli theatre, renaming it the Leeds Hippodrome on 20 March 1899. This was his first encounter with fellow impresario Sir Oswald Stoll
, whose chain had just opened the Leed Empire theatre, whose features and scale had, less than two months later, brought about the failure of the lessor and resultant sale of the Tivoli to Barrasford. Barrasford noticed that fellow impresario Frank MacNaughten in Bradford
had countered the opening of the Stoll Bradford Empire in January, 1899, by using an idea pioneered by George "Champagne Charlie" Laybourne in 1870 in his Wear
music hall, offering a "twice nightly" performance schedule. The formula proved so successful at not only countering the drop in attendance figures normally experienced in existing theatres facing competition from a new Stoll theatre, but actually increased revenues. Barrasford borrowed MacNaughten's Bradford theatre manager to replicate the system in Leeds, with the choice proving so successful and lucrative, that Barrasford moved his home and the operational headquarters of his business to Leeds
.
(renamed from the Tower theatre), and then the Alhambra theatre
, Kingston upon Hull
. In 1902 he acquired the Glasgow Hippodrome, but his most important theatre in his business opened that year, the Bank Holiday
opening of the brand new 4,000 seat Bertie Crewe
designed Liverpool Royal Hippodrome, with prices at rock bottom. Although the now combined Moss-Stoll consortia
already had a theatre in the city, they specifically built the Liverpool Olympia
close by. Opened with a production of Tally Ho!
direct from the London Hippodrome, it never paid its way thanks to the pulling power of the scale, extravegance and "twice-nightly" format of the Barrasford Hall.
Barrasford followed this success with the 1903 opening of the brand new Newcastle Pavilion in Westgate Road, with a bill topped by Tyneside contralto
Madame Belle Cole. Barrasford in competition to Moss-Stoll added two further existing theatres to his tour in Liverpool: the Lyric Theatre in Everton Valley (opened Easter Monday, 1903); and the St Helens Hippodrome (previously the St Helens Empire), which opened with Fred Karno
's comedy company in a production of Jail Birds. Barrasford also added the Grand Theatre, Manchester and the Regent Theatre in Salford, neither of which proved financially successful and where hence quickly disposed of.
In 1904, the second new Barrasford Hall opened in Glasgow
, the Bertie Crewe designed Glasgow Pavilion
on 29 February 1904. barrasford also expanded south at this time, adding the Bristol Empire and the Brighton Hippodrome
. He also took over the lease on the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, letting Crewe refurbish it, but handed the lease over to Frank MacNaughten after nine months.
The St Helens Hippodrome was the fourteenth music hall added to the Tour in four years, with the empire spanning the following: Palace, Jarrow; Tivoli, Leeds; Tivoli, Edinburgh and Tivoli, Birmingham; Alhambra, Hull; Empire, Bristol; Lyric, Everton; Grand, Manchester, and Regent, Salford. The Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, together with the Hippodromes at Liverpool, Glasgow and Brighton and St. Helens.
Barrasford now expanded the physical footprint of his theatres further afield. Registering Barrasford Circuit as a limited company at Leicester Place, off Leicester Square
, London, Barrasford was listed as Managing Director, and Hugh Astley ex-manager of the London Pavilion
as Chairman. They then purchased the Newcastle Pavilion, and after the closure of the Hoxton venture, took on Stoll in a direct race to open in the Westend. Barrasford bought the old Lyceum Theatre, just off The Strand, which he commissioned Bertie Crewe to refurbish. Although Stoll's Empire won the opening race (Christmas Eve, 1904), the Lyceum opened on Boxing Day
.
But much of Barrasford's financial success had been based on alcohol sales, and London County Council refused a license on principle for the Lyceum. Although the Lyceum attarcted royal patronage before the Empire, with the first production of the ballet
Excelsior seen by the Prince and Princess of Wales, afterwards King George V and Queen Mary
.
By mid-1905, Barrasford Halls were facing a mini-financial crisis. Barrasford, in trying to out pace Stoll by trialling acts in Europe, had opened Alhambra-themed halls in Brussels
and Paris
. However, the former had quickly burnt down less than a year after opening, while both Paris and the Lyceum were losing money. With no possibility of a liquor license, Barrasford sold the Lyceum to the Melville family for £240,000.
. Having turned the ice rink into the Brighton Hippodrome
in 1902, he acquired an old music hall in New Road and refurbished it as the Brighton Coliseum. Barrasford himself lived in a converted warehouse next to the Hippodrome, called Hippodrome House.
There now followed a period of consolidation around the business. The Tivoli, Leeds, was refurbished and renamed the New Hippodrome, opening in 1906. The Hull Alhambra was refurbished as the New Hippodrome, but on completion of works the lease was handed to its manager Alfred Graham. The opening of the Coventry Hippodrome on 31 December 1906, also coincided with disposal of the loss-making theatres in Manchester.
On 23 December 1907, the Crewe designed Sheffield Hippodrome opened, followed the following year in the opening of the last Barrasford Hall, the Crewe designed Nottingham Hippodrome, opening on 28 September 1908.
, inventing the starting device the "Barrasford Gate." On an occasion of being assured that his horse would win at Pontefract Racecourse
, he placed a five-shilling bet on behalf of every member of his staff at the Leed's Tivoli. After it won, the performances that night were cancelled at the Tivoli, as the entire staff spent the night celebrating.
with Leeds photographer Owen Brooks, with assistance from an engineer named Borland, they put first put the machine into the Leeds Tivoli from 1902. He later adapted a number of his theatres to use it, including the Brighton Coliseum in 1909.
By now, Barrasford was suffering from persistent ill health from Bright's Disease
, and impresarios in USA and Britain expressed interest in taking over his entire tour. Sir Alfred Butt succeeded, in association with the Orpheum Circuit of America, and developed a new British circuit which rivalled the Moss-Stoll combine. Barrasford died at his home in Brighton on 1 February 1910. His second wife was former music hall singer Maud D'Almayne, with whom he had three sons, all of whom worked in the theatre business. His funeral was once of the largest ever held in Brighton.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
entertainment impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
and business entrepreneur, who owned and built a number of theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
s across the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
under the Barrasford Halls brand.
Early career
The son of a Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
publican
Publican
In antiquity, publicans were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects...
, Barrasford attended the Royal Scotch Arms pub, and noticed its transformation under his later competitors Moss
Edward Moss
Sir Horace Edward Commitment Moss was a British theatre impresario and the founder chairman of the Moss Empires Ltd theatre combine which he created in the 1890s after first joining forces with Richard Thornton of Newcastle and later with Oswald Stoll then operating in Wales...
and Thornton into the Empire Music Hall in 1890. In 1895, in partnership with a man named Varah, Barrasford took over the wooden circus on the Ormond Street, Jarrow
Jarrow
Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...
, turning it into a music hall, known as the Jarrow Palace of Varieties.
Expanding his empire quickly from 1899, he acquired the Leeds Tivoli theatre, renaming it the Leeds Hippodrome on 20 March 1899. This was his first encounter with fellow impresario Sir Oswald Stoll
Oswald Stoll
Sir Oswald Stoll was an Australian-born British theatre manager and the co-founder of the Stoll Moss Group theatre company...
, whose chain had just opened the Leed Empire theatre, whose features and scale had, less than two months later, brought about the failure of the lessor and resultant sale of the Tivoli to Barrasford. Barrasford noticed that fellow impresario Frank MacNaughten in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
had countered the opening of the Stoll Bradford Empire in January, 1899, by using an idea pioneered by George "Champagne Charlie" Laybourne in 1870 in his Wear
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
music hall, offering a "twice nightly" performance schedule. The formula proved so successful at not only countering the drop in attendance figures normally experienced in existing theatres facing competition from a new Stoll theatre, but actually increased revenues. Barrasford borrowed MacNaughten's Bradford theatre manager to replicate the system in Leeds, with the choice proving so successful and lucrative, that Barrasford moved his home and the operational headquarters of his business to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
.
Rivalry with Sir Oswald Stoll
The form of entertainment contract at the time was called a "tour," where by an impresario would book an act to tour all of his venues. Barrasford had noticed that Stoll would try to run his theatres cheaply, by booking foreign acts on a one week trial contract to fill-in for his headline British acts: if they were a success then they got a tour, if not their contract would terminate at the end of the week. Barrasford hence started to attend Stoll's theatres in competition to his on a Monday, and if the act proved a success would then find them and sign them to a tour of his theatres. This skull dugery as far as Stoll was concerned was immoral, and after he banned Barrasford and his employees from the entire Stoll empire, so began a long term battle between the two impresarios.Building the tour
Barrasford in return set about competing against Stoll, by resolving to build his theatres bigger and better than the Moss and Stoll empires. In 1900 he acquired the Grand Theatre, Edinburgh (renamed from the Tivoli Theatre). In 1901 he acquired the Birmingham HippodromeBirmingham Hippodrome
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End...
(renamed from the Tower theatre), and then the Alhambra theatre
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as The Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was...
, Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. In 1902 he acquired the Glasgow Hippodrome, but his most important theatre in his business opened that year, the Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
opening of the brand new 4,000 seat Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe
Bertie Crewe was one of the leading English theatre architects in the boom of 1885 to 1915-Biography:Born in Essex and partly trained by Frank Matcham, Crewe and his contemporaries W.G.R...
designed Liverpool Royal Hippodrome, with prices at rock bottom. Although the now combined Moss-Stoll consortia
Moss Empires
Moss Empires was a British company formed in Edinburgh from the merger of the theatre companies owned by Sir Edward Moss and Sir Oswald Stoll in 1898. This created the largest British chain of music halls...
already had a theatre in the city, they specifically built the Liverpool Olympia
Liverpool Olympia
The Liverpool Olympia is situated next to The Grafton Ballroom on West Derby Road, Liverpool, England.-History:The Liverpool Olympia was built in 1905 For Moss Empires Ltd by architect Frank Matcham as a purpose built indoor circus and variety theatre...
close by. Opened with a production of Tally Ho!
Tally Ho!
-Track listing:#"Fly Swat" - 5:11#"Crazy Disco Party" - 5:07#"Tally Ho!" - 4:33#"Memory Towel" - 5:36#"Shimmering Haze" - 6:17#"Juicy Luke Vibert" - 2:18#"Piano Playa Hata" - 4:57#"Workout" - 4:53#"Rendleshack" - 5:19#"Lovely" - 4:08...
direct from the London Hippodrome, it never paid its way thanks to the pulling power of the scale, extravegance and "twice-nightly" format of the Barrasford Hall.
Barrasford followed this success with the 1903 opening of the brand new Newcastle Pavilion in Westgate Road, with a bill topped by Tyneside contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
Madame Belle Cole. Barrasford in competition to Moss-Stoll added two further existing theatres to his tour in Liverpool: the Lyric Theatre in Everton Valley (opened Easter Monday, 1903); and the St Helens Hippodrome (previously the St Helens Empire), which opened with Fred Karno
Fred Karno
Frederick John Westcott , best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was a theatre impresario of the British music hall. Karno is credited with inventing the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. Among the young comedians who worked for him were Charlie Chaplin and Arthur Jefferson, who later adopted the...
's comedy company in a production of Jail Birds. Barrasford also added the Grand Theatre, Manchester and the Regent Theatre in Salford, neither of which proved financially successful and where hence quickly disposed of.
In 1904, the second new Barrasford Hall opened in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, the Bertie Crewe designed Glasgow Pavilion
Pavilion Theatre (Glasgow)
-History:One of Glasgow's oldest theatres, the Pavilion Theatre of Varieties opened on 29 February 1904 as a Music hall. The building has remained relatively unchanged in layout, although the sound and lighting systems have been updated over the years...
on 29 February 1904. barrasford also expanded south at this time, adding the Bristol Empire and the Brighton Hippodrome
Brighton Hippodrome
The former Brighton Hippodrome is an entertainment venue in the ancient centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It has been empty and out of use since 2007, when its use as a bingo hall ceased, but since its construction in 1897 it has hosted an ice rink, circus acts,...
. He also took over the lease on the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, letting Crewe refurbish it, but handed the lease over to Frank MacNaughten after nine months.
The St Helens Hippodrome was the fourteenth music hall added to the Tour in four years, with the empire spanning the following: Palace, Jarrow; Tivoli, Leeds; Tivoli, Edinburgh and Tivoli, Birmingham; Alhambra, Hull; Empire, Bristol; Lyric, Everton; Grand, Manchester, and Regent, Salford. The Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, together with the Hippodromes at Liverpool, Glasgow and Brighton and St. Helens.
Barrasford now expanded the physical footprint of his theatres further afield. Registering Barrasford Circuit as a limited company at Leicester Place, off Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
, London, Barrasford was listed as Managing Director, and Hugh Astley ex-manager of the London Pavilion
London Pavilion
The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of, and facing, Piccadilly Circus in London...
as Chairman. They then purchased the Newcastle Pavilion, and after the closure of the Hoxton venture, took on Stoll in a direct race to open in the Westend. Barrasford bought the old Lyceum Theatre, just off The Strand, which he commissioned Bertie Crewe to refurbish. Although Stoll's Empire won the opening race (Christmas Eve, 1904), the Lyceum opened on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
.
But much of Barrasford's financial success had been based on alcohol sales, and London County Council refused a license on principle for the Lyceum. Although the Lyceum attarcted royal patronage before the Empire, with the first production of the ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
Excelsior seen by the Prince and Princess of Wales, afterwards King George V and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
.
By mid-1905, Barrasford Halls were facing a mini-financial crisis. Barrasford, in trying to out pace Stoll by trialling acts in Europe, had opened Alhambra-themed halls in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. However, the former had quickly burnt down less than a year after opening, while both Paris and the Lyceum were losing money. With no possibility of a liquor license, Barrasford sold the Lyceum to the Melville family for £240,000.
Consolidation
Barrasford moved the centre of his business operations to BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Having turned the ice rink into the Brighton Hippodrome
Brighton Hippodrome
The former Brighton Hippodrome is an entertainment venue in the ancient centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It has been empty and out of use since 2007, when its use as a bingo hall ceased, but since its construction in 1897 it has hosted an ice rink, circus acts,...
in 1902, he acquired an old music hall in New Road and refurbished it as the Brighton Coliseum. Barrasford himself lived in a converted warehouse next to the Hippodrome, called Hippodrome House.
There now followed a period of consolidation around the business. The Tivoli, Leeds, was refurbished and renamed the New Hippodrome, opening in 1906. The Hull Alhambra was refurbished as the New Hippodrome, but on completion of works the lease was handed to its manager Alfred Graham. The opening of the Coventry Hippodrome on 31 December 1906, also coincided with disposal of the loss-making theatres in Manchester.
On 23 December 1907, the Crewe designed Sheffield Hippodrome opened, followed the following year in the opening of the last Barrasford Hall, the Crewe designed Nottingham Hippodrome, opening on 28 September 1908.
Other interests
Barrasford was an ethusiastic race horse owner, and after becoming a prominent figure at the Jockey ClubJockey Club
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial organisation in British horseracing. Although no longer responsible for the governance and regulation of the sport, it owns 14 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham and Newmarket, amongst other concerns such as the National Stud and...
, inventing the starting device the "Barrasford Gate." On an occasion of being assured that his horse would win at Pontefract Racecourse
Pontefract Racecourse
Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England.Pontefract is one of the best appointed courses of its kind in the country. There are modern bars and refreshment areas in all enclosures....
, he placed a five-shilling bet on behalf of every member of his staff at the Leed's Tivoli. After it won, the performances that night were cancelled at the Tivoli, as the entire staff spent the night celebrating.
Cinema, and retirement
Barrasford was an early adopter of the new moving pictures invention, creating the Barrascope system for cinematograph projection. Holding a patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
with Leeds photographer Owen Brooks, with assistance from an engineer named Borland, they put first put the machine into the Leeds Tivoli from 1902. He later adapted a number of his theatres to use it, including the Brighton Coliseum in 1909.
By now, Barrasford was suffering from persistent ill health from Bright's Disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
, and impresarios in USA and Britain expressed interest in taking over his entire tour. Sir Alfred Butt succeeded, in association with the Orpheum Circuit of America, and developed a new British circuit which rivalled the Moss-Stoll combine. Barrasford died at his home in Brighton on 1 February 1910. His second wife was former music hall singer Maud D'Almayne, with whom he had three sons, all of whom worked in the theatre business. His funeral was once of the largest ever held in Brighton.
External links
- http://pages.britishlibrary.net/mikepymm/barrasfo.htm